Deciphering Chemical Language of Plant Communication (Signaling and Communication in Plants)

This book provides an overview of the intricacies of plant communication via volatile chemicals. Plants produce an extraordinarily vast array of chemicals, which provide community members with detailed information about the producer’s identity, physiology and phenology. Volatile organic chemicals, either as individual compounds or complex chemical blends, are a communication medium operating between plants and any organism able to detect the compounds and respond. The ecological and evolutionary origins of particular interactions between plants and the greater community have been, and will continue to be, strenuously debated. However, it is clear that chemicals, and particularly volatile chemicals, constitute a medium akin to a linguistic tool. As well as possessing a rich chemical vocabulary, plants are known to detect and respond to chemical cues. These cues can originate from neighbouring plants, or other associated community members. This book begins with chapters on the complexity of chemical messages, provides a broad perspective on a range of ecological interactions mediated by volatile chemicals, and extends to cutting edge developments on the detection of chemicals by plants. Front Matter....Pages i-viii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Temporal Dynamics of Plant Volatiles: Mechanistic Bases and Functional Consequences....Pages 3-34 Environmental Impacts on Plant Volatile Emission....Pages 35-59 Impacts of Induction of Plant Volatiles by Individual and Multiple Stresses Across Trophic Levels....Pages 61-93 Measuring Rapid Changes in Plant Volatiles at Different Spatial Levels....Pages 95-114 Front Matter....Pages 115-115 Who’s Listening to Talking Plants?....Pages 117-136 Ecological Role of Odour Diversity....Pages 137-151 Neighbour Recognition Through Volatile-Mediated Interactions....Pages 153-174 Calling in the Dark: The Role of Volatiles for Communication in the Rhizosphere....Pages 175-210 Complexity of Plant Volatile-Mediated Interactions Beyond the Third Trophic Level....Pages 211-225 On the Air: Broadcasting and Reception of Volatile Messages in Brood-Site Pollination Mutualisms....Pages 227-255 Multifunctional and Diverse Floral Scents Mediate Biotic Interactions Embedded in Communities....Pages 257-282 Front Matter....Pages 283-283 Plant Electrophysiology: Early Stages of the Plant Response to Chemical Signals....Pages 285-303 Uptake and Conversion of Volatile Compounds in Plant–Plant Communication....Pages 305-316 Front Matter....Pages 317-317 Deciphering Chemical Language of Plant Communication: Synthesis and Future Research Directions....Pages 319-326